Dance Commentary and Reviews by Heather Desaulniers, freelance dance critic, former dancer and choreographer, PhD in dance history.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

"Soil"

Paufve | dance

Hillside Swedenborgian Community Church, El Cerrito

October 11th, 2013

“Soil”, the
newest performance piece from Paufve | dance, is both a treasure and triumph
for the modern genre. An hour-long event danced by Randee Paufve, “Soil” brings
five solos (some premieres; some past works) by four different choreographers:
Kate Weare, Gregg Bielemeier, Della Davidson and Paufve herself.

Set in a
gorgeous building high atop a hill, the ‘mobile’ piece inhabits different parts
of a single room. The first solo, Paufve’s “Laying Ground” (2008), unfolded in
front of large bay windows just as the sun was setting. A moment of closure meeting
an instant of beginning, accompanied by an earthy cello score. From there
Paufve journeyed to the center of the space for the premiere of Kate Weare’s “Erie
Lackawana”. Every movement of this solo variation had a tactile presence –
whether small flutters in the hand or lengthy arabesque poses, Paufve seemed to
be truly ‘touching’ the space around her, as opposed to creating shapes within
that space. It may be somewhat of a buzz word in modern dance today but “Erie
Lackawana” had a very real sense of organic-ness.

Photo: Pak Han

Solo #3, the
premiere of Gregg Bielemeier’s “…it’s kind of a secret but she screams like a
girl…” was a stand-out hit. Like all good dance theater, this vignette had
comedy, absurdity and a strong technical foundation. It began with a scene of Paufve
getting into character, almost like watching her prepare backstage in a dressing
room. She put on her costume, did her make-up and donned a short blond wig,
transforming into a wonderful combination of the real-life Chloe Sevigny and
the fictitious Carmela Soprano. Medium-sized bouncy balls were scattered around
the floor, getting kicked and swatted as Paufve cycled through the fun, yet
sound choreography. “…it’s kind of a secret but she screams like a girl…”
concluded with a hilarious set of personal reflections as Paufve (outside) used
a set of window panes as her own personal mirrors.

1991’s “Flying
Over Emptiness” (choreography by Della Davidson) took the fourth spot on the
program, with a hefty injection of drama and expansive movement. A particularly
compelling wing motif suggested the pure essence of breath, further emphasized by
the wind soundscore. And as the solo closed, it had descended into a tortured,
gnarled web. The final dance of the evening was the premiere of Paufve’s
“Endless Mountain”, a piece that exuded primitive strength. Reflecting the vast
choreographic spectrum that is Paufve’s work, “Endless Mountain” deliciously
toggled between the introspective and the inclusive. The live musical
accompaniment didn’t quite have the same breadth, instead remaining in an
atonal, avant-garde, improvisational space for the duration.

An hour of
solo performance is no joke, and as one might expect, there had to be slight
pauses between the segments for costume changes, setting up the next space and
of course, a break! These transitions can be very tricky, and here, were
handled brilliantly – there was no ‘stop and go’ feeling. Rather, there was
great attention to maintaining the flow of the performance during those in
between spaces.

However
wonderful the choreography and the dancing, “Soil” did have one issue that came
up a couple of time – a disconnect between the movement and the music. Of
course, it is extremely common in contemporary performance for the score and
the choreography to be different, sometimes even at odds with each other. But
there is divergence and then there is distraction. In the second and fifth
solos, the latter was true; at times, the music was actually distracting from
what was happening on stage.